The Slayer Experience at SCA 2018

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May 05, 2018

Slayer is inherently different. In 2007, the mission was to bring the cupping table flavors to the espresso cup, via patented Needle Valve technology. In 2016, the focus turned to steam and the Vaporizer technology was launched.

Both innovations garnered best-in-class design awards at the world’s largest and leading coffee expos around the globe, where Slayer has a history of tackling the status quo not only for Slayer but in the best interest of specialty coffee.

The 2018 Specialty Coffee Association’s Expo in Seattle was no different. Below is a recap of what the Slayer brand experience team delivered on our home turf.

The Booth

Trade shows are the worst when it comes to sincerely engaging with our partners, friends and fans. How would you feel meeting a distant (digital friend) for the first time only to find the experience lost in a sea of sameness? Authenticity and genuine conversations were the goal. –one that changes the way we experience coffee, see the industry for what it is and can be, and most of all, enjoy an amazing global representation of what we all love–good coffee! This year Slayer did that with hand-painted crates, a DJ spinning vinyl, and the introduction of the latest benchmark for espresso machines worldwide: the Steam Box Set.

All three machines feature high volume beverage output, volumetrics for consistent shot preparation, intuitive ergonomics for smooth, efficient bar flow and Slayer’s signature design style, sexy from every angle.

The Mural Art

Art and design will always play a special role at Slayer. Dana Tanamachi, Graphic Designer and owner of Tanamachi Studio was the perfect partner for this installment. Inspiration direction came from our Japanese knife handle inspired wooden actuators to traditional street and graffiti murals. Crate-niture dressed in colorful patterns, topped with cushions showcased our roots and start up drive. Tanamachi injected Slayer’s street sensibility into an installation that nodded to Seattle, boldness, the landscape , coffee trees, vinyl and the extraction of espresso as the shot begins to drip.

The DJ

Slayer isn’t just inspired by music—it beats through everything we do. True fact: there just may be more musicians than non-musicans making up the Slayer team! A central feature of the SCA booth was Waylon Dungan, a seminal DJ and producer in Seattle’s hiphop community better known by the Moniker WD4D. Dungan spun live vinyl records for those in and around the Slayer booth all three days of the Expo, giving a soundtrack not only to the room, but the Slayer spirit of analog appreciation. It goes without saying that Dungan’s set was the first of its kind—maybe next year the Expo won’t ask us to turn the volume down.

The Pro Shop

For the first time, Slayer came to SCA with a single run of t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and other merchandise for purchase. It didn’t take long for the pro-shop to sell out of sizes, then whole items, then nearly our whole inventory. Not yet available online, we are selling items from our Seattle Showroom with a webstore in the works, stay tuned!

The furniture or “crate-niture” scattered about the Slayer booth was also built from actual machine crates, making the space feel more like a lounge than a salesroom.

The SCA Slayer Barista Experience

Each day at the Expo presented a new chance for Slayer to showcase our story with the best baristas both regionally and around the world. Aligned with our mission, make coffee better, preparing exceptional espresso and milk beverages to make coffee better. Artists in their own regard, these professionals embodied the experience with every prepared cup. working with our machines as their tools, and included both hometown Seattlites and those from as far away as New York and Toronto CA. Our coffees were just as varied and delightful as our service professionals on bar, coming courtesy of Atlas Coffee Importers, the upstart Bellwether Coffee Roasters, and Onyx Coffee Importers.

The choice to celebrate one coffee option daily and for-pay services professionals for time on bar

was a deliberate and thoughtful choice. Slayer has always been committed to empowering members of the coffee community to make their best coffees better by supplying them with the right tools for the task. Through our industry experts hands and specialty milks and coffee, the proof was in the cup. We believe our role as espresso machine manufacturer is to help our community show off what they can do, not what we have done for them. It’s this goal that inspired the Steam Box set. Stepping back, there was a need for a more approachable price point than our previous model with automation features.

The Slayer Steam Box Set consists of a three tier offering in equipment; Steam with Vaporizer technology, Steam X, Steam LP & Steam EP. All offerings quipped with volumetrics, incredible customer side design and from what we hear is a baristas bar flow dream to work behind. At With Slayer you’ve now got options for every user type and approachable price points.